March 31, 2010

The month of March was the 1st time I completed more than 575 miles of cycling & more than 100 miles of running in 1 month! I felt like I made huge fitness and speed gains on my fitness the month of March. Perfect timing since my A race, The Atomic Man Duathlon is on April 25th. Aprils miles wont be as high because I'll be tapering for, that's right, my A race, The Atomic Man duathlon!!!! My 3 goals for my A race is

1) breaking my race PR of 67 minutes2a)taking top 3 over allor 2B)taking top 10 overall3)taking 1st place in the 35-39 age group

I'm eating my first meal made with local Prickly Pear cactus. I harvested it from my yard, burned off the thorns, cut off the skin, and then sliced up the meat & threw it in my salad. Tastes like green beans. It doesn't get any more local and organic than this!!!

My current weight is 193. I've been stuck at this weight for 2 weeks, but rather than becoming frustrated & risk falling off the wagon I'm going to stay consistent, motivated, and weather this storm! After all, I'm only 1 pound away from having lost 100 pounds total! If I end up maintaining this weight, I'm ok with that because I'm faster at this weight than I've ever been. But I believe I'll get past this speed bump and get to one of my 2 goal weight of either 182.5 or 175.

My next race is this this Saturday April 3rd. It's the Wind triathlon at White Sands Missile Range New Mexico. Wish me luck & tune in here for my race report!

March 30, 2010

I seem to have finally mastered riding in the aero position on the rollers. The things I've learned training like this is:-Riding on the rollers on the road bike corrects poor form on the road bike, but not necessarily on the tri bike, in the aero's.-I'm a MUCH better time trialist since i've been riding the aero's on the rollers!!-if I start to fall on my road bike I can catch myself. If I start to fall in the aero position....I'm going down-HARD!

March 28, 2010

Saturday morning my buddy & I got off from working a 12 hour shift and drove to Alpine Texas for the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon. There was a terrible snow storm that started the night before. The roads were a mess, dangerous, and we were on our way!

I knew it was going to be cold for race start on Sunday morning. The near freezing temperatures that was expected had me jumping for joy! I have break out performances at races where the temperature is at or below freezing.

I was feeling confident for this race. Along with the freezing cold I was going to be racing at 193 pounds which was 34 pounds lighter than my usual race weight.

My training has been at an all time high. I had really been hammering out the hill training & speed intervals! The only thing that may negatively effect my race would be fatigue. I'd just finished 3 consecutively harder weeks of KILLER training. & since the Sully Super Sprint Triathlon was a C race I wasn't taking any time to rest, which included a 1.5 hour base run the night before the race.

As soon as we got to Alpine we set up our tent. It was cold! It ended up getting down to 25 degrees that night. 25 degrees & sleeping in a tent made for a memorable uncomfortable night!

The triathlon was a reverse sprint, a 3 mile run, 15 mile bike, 360 yard swim. It was as cold as was expected at the start, somewhere around 33 degrees. As usual I raced with as little equipment & clothes on as possible. Most of the athletes were racing in shorts, cycling tops, cycling pants, a wind breaker, ear muffs, & gloves. I started with gloves & a triathlon suit- see the picture above of me in a triathlon suit. Not much to it eh? That's right, that is what I raced in, nothing else. I do this because racing with as little on as possible saves time transitioning from the run to bike & the bike to the swim.

The Sully Super Sprint has a very hard run for a sprint triathlon! Massive hills! Because of the fatigue from the hard training I'd been going through the 3 weeks before I was having a difficult time getting my legs going on the run. I ended up finishing around 13th place overall on the run portion. Not any where as well as I was hoping. Thankfully by the time I got on to the bike I felt like my legs were warmed up & I was ready to start reeling some people in!

As soon as I started out on the bike I knew I felt great & started hunting people down! The question remained: was I going to be able to make up the time I'd lost to my competitors on the run?

Since it was an out and back course on the bike I was able to count how many athletes were in front of me as they rode back from the turn around. Just before the turn around I saw there were only 2 people in front of me! I was in 3rd place overall!

At my last race, the Presidents day duathlon I was in 10th place overall spot and 10Kilometers from the end I was knocked out of the top 10 by fellow triathlete Mark Balsinger.

So same situation here at the Sully Super Sprint, with 5 kilometers left on the bike Mark Balsinger passed me (again) & knocked me out of the top 3 spot.

I entered T-2 around 15 seconds behind Mark & he swims about as fast as I do. I knew the only way I could beat him was if I had a much faster transition. This is where racing with less clothes/equipment has helped me. Even though he entered transition 15 seconds before I did, I departed the transition area before him & was able to hold him off on the swim, securing my first ever top 3 finish!!!!!!!

Lesson of the day, race as close to your birthday suit as the law will allow :-P

This was my 3rd 1st place finish in the 35-39 age group this year & I am currently winning the South West Challenge Series 35-39 with a total of 38 points with 4 races. The next placed competitor in the 35-39 is Gregory Gouveia with 17 Points and 2 races.

My next race is the Wind Triathlon on Saturday April 3rd 2010 at WSMR.

March 18, 2010

The Jay Benson triathlon is the most competitive race in New Mexico. I've heard the Jay Benson referred to as the New Mexico state triathlon championships more than once. Since I was planning on being at an all time low body weight by then I was expecting to really throw a smack down that day. I was really disappointed when I found out I wouldn't be racing it this year. I found out that the Jay Benson triathlon's registration closed on March 6th. I had put my name down on the stand by list, but even then I was #42 & it was unlikely I'd get a slot. To say I was disappointed was an understatement! I was looking foreword to the Jay Benson more so than any other race of the year. I was planning on showing the new & improved multisport me.

I have been controlling my weight loss so that I'd be at a certain weight by each of my 2 most important races of the year. 185 by the Atomicman, & then be at my dream race weight of 182.5 by the week of the Jay Benson.

Today I received a call from Sports Systems & they said I got one of the last slots on the Jay Benson waiting list!! All I have to do is drive to Sports Systems, fill out a registration form, & pay for my slot & I'm in!!! I'm so happy!

Speaking of weight loss, I'm down to 194 pounds. The lightest I've ever raced at was 194 pounds 2 years ago (at the Jay Benson triathlon actually). I had one of the best races of my life at that weight. This Sunday I'll be racing the Sully Super Sprint triathlon in Alpine TX. By then I should be slightly under 194! Perfect timing! I'm hoping for a break through performance this Sunday! My training has been at an all time high, & my weight will be at an all time low! The last time I raced the Sully Super Sprint triathlon I had a heavier bike, heavier and less aerodynamic wheels, and weighed 227 pounds! I still finished the day in 9th place overall. So I'm really hoping & expecting a great placing this weekend! Log in here to see how I do!!!

March 13, 2010

First off, I have Directv & they no longer carry the channel Versus, which is what the Tour De France is going to be televised on this July. If they don't figure out a way to carry the Tour by mid June I'm going to have to cancel my contract with them & get a new cable/dish carrier.

I just got the word from the NM employees public retirement association that my paper work (and check) to buy 16 months of military time was accepted & has gone through without a hitch. My new aproximate date of retirement from the NM state pennitentiary is summer of 2015!!!

Speaking of the Tour, most of my favorite riders are going tp be riding for team RadioShack this year. Of course there's Lance Armstrong, there is also Levi Leipheimer and Chris Horner. As a matter of fact the only cyclists whom I would consider as a favorite of mine who isn't one the Shack team would be George Hincapie & thor hushovd. I am SO looking foreward to the Tour this year! I'm probably more excited about this years Tour than any other year!

Here is an article on Chris Horner that originally made me a fan of his:

Pro cyclists. Who needs 'em? Let's face it -- the sport has a reputation for taking itself too seriously.

A subculture populated by men with shaved legs, borderline eating disorders and spandex wardrobes is fertile ground for acts of overcompensation. Pro cyclists, specifically the roadies, can seem aggressive and dramatic.

What they do is extremely hard and seriously dangerous, so I'm willing to cut them some slack, but sometimes I just want to pat them on the back, hand them a box of Twinkies and tell them that everything is going to be OK.

And there's at least one guy in the pro peloton who probably wouldn't turn down the Twinkies: Bend's own Chris Horner.

Aside from his notoriously questionable nutritional habits, Horner is known for his good nature, easy manner and rock-solid work ethic. The man is a machine -- and he'll make you laugh while he's turning the screws.

During the course of his career, he's won the points standing for the National Racing Calendar three times and competed in three Tours de France, placing 15th overall in 2007. Most recently, Horner's been hard at work on the Astana team riding support for Levi Leipheimer, who many think is capable of winning the Tour in the next few years.

Unfortunately, because of the team's previous involvement with doping scandals, Astana wasn't invited to the big show in France this year. That's how Chris and Levi (who weren't with Astana at the time of the scandals) ended up racing the Cascade Cycling Classic stage race this July in Horner's hometown of Bend.

The town was abuzz with his name when I arrived.

I'll be honest. By the time I actually got a chance to meet the guy, I was already suffering from severe Horner-love burnout. What is it about this guy?, I thought to myself.

And then I found out in one of those rare moments where life lives up to legend.

During Stage 5, Billy Demong, a racer from another team, crashed hard with 2K to go, damaging his bike enough to render it useless. Scraped and bloodied, he began to run the remaining distance to the finish.

About this time, Horner, who had spent the past 80 miles busting legs for Levi, found him and loaded him up on the seat of his bike, elementary-school style. Climbing the remaining distance entirely out of the saddle with a podium-worthy grin on his face, he hauled Demong (and his broken bicycle!) to the finish.

As I watched the duo come rolling slowly up the crest of the hill, I couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Even as we stood chuckling and shaking our heads at the absurdity of the whole thing, I have to believe that I was not the only one to find myself suddenly steeped in long-forgotten childhood memories of buddy rides and two-wheeled misadventures.

And suddenly the rabid Horner-love made perfect sense.

He is the people's pro. He is the neighborhood pal who rode us on the handlebars so we would make it home before the streetlights came on. And his injection of levity reminds us why we started riding bikes in the first place.